(11 September 2009 – Global) ANZ has once again kept its title as the world’s leading bank in sustainability by being named as the most sustainable bank globally in the Dow Jones Sustainability Index (DJSI) for 2009.ANZ has maintained its leading status in sustainability, being recognised for the third consecutive year by the DJSI as the world’s leading bank in sustainability.
The assessment that ANZ received came in at 90 percent, a significant way ahead of the global bank average of just 51 percent. The result is also ahead of its market leading results in each of the past two years.
The DJSI assesses business management practices such as corporate governance, risk management, customer relations, brand management, human resources, corporate community investment, climate change mitigation and environmental performance.
ANZ Chief Executive Officer, Mike Smith, said that the assessment recognises that ANZ has both maintained and strengthened its focus on responsible business practices during a period of global economic instability.
Smith also highlighted that ANZ’s practices rated highly in the DJSI assessment particularly because they were clear evidence that the bank is embedding responsible practices into everything it does.
These practices include ANZ’s new global Code of Conduct and Ethics, brand strategy, programs to create a risk-aware culture across the organisation and support for customers facing financial hardship, Smith said.